Just back from a trip to Croatia, this week Independent Travel writer Amelia Neath told me about a woman who was meant to be on her flight to Split, but was turned away at the gate. On presenting her travel documents, the unfortunate traveller was told that her passport was not valid for travel to Croatia – despite the fact that it had yet to reach its expiry date.
This woman had sadly been caught out by the ‘10-year issue rule’ that applies to Brits travelling to the European Union (as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein) since Brexit. This rule stipulates that “third country” nationals (which includes the UK since we left the EU on 31 January 2020) must present a travel document that has been issued within the previous 10 years the day you enter the EU. The other stipulation is that the passport should be valid until the end of the traveller’s stay plus an additional three months.
While her husband and four children went ahead and boarded the flight, this poor woman would have had to go back home and likely miss her holiday. It is possible to apply for an urgent passport with the “1 day premium” service, but the earliest you can get an appointment is in two days, with the passport being ready to collect four hours later, at a cost of £239.50. Add to this the cost of a new flight and it becomes an incredibly pricey (not to mention stressful) business to get the holiday back on track.
Being turned away from your flight at the boarding gate – after booking (and paying for) a trip, packing, preparing, travelling to the airport and checking in – must be devastating. Previously on Independent Travel, we have extensively covered the ‘10-year issue rule’ as we heard of case after case of travellers falling foul and being denied boarding – and I’m sad to see it’s still happening. This week we spoke with Celia Jenkins who wasn’t aware that her passport was invalid for travel to the EU until she was at Bristol airport waiting to board her Jet2 flight to Kefalonia in Greece, where her family has a second home. Celia, 78, and her husband Rees, 82, were told by staff that their passports were 10 years and three days old, meaning they would be denied entry into Greece. Celia estimated that this mistake cost her and Rees £500 in bus and taxi fares, along with a night at an airport hotel and flights, plus the opportunity to spend a week with their children and grandchildren in Greece.
Although it is a passenger’s responsibility to make sure that their travel documents are valid, I do feel incredibly sorry for travellers like Celia and the many others who have been caught out by this rule. Beyond the frustration that becoming “third party nationals” was a consequence of Brexit, I also appreciate that for many travellers there is no reason why they should be aware that the passport rules had changed. Despite the fact I should certainly know better, I have personally been very nearly caught out by not having the right travel documents – including a last-minute panic when I realised I hadn’t secured my Canadian Electronic Travel Authorization the day before I flew to Alberta (thankfully it was granted immediately), and a memorable afternoon spent frantically rummaging through drawers to find a yellow fever certificate I needed for a trip to Uganda. My recommendation is – no matter where you are travelling, whether you’ve been there before, and how well you think you know the destination – check country entry requirements carefully on the UK Foreign Office website as soon as you book your trip, and ensure you have all documents in order well ahead of travel.
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